FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD Kirandeep Kaur Gurdip Singh led a dramatic Kuala Lumpur fightback to beat Sabah 4-3 in the final of the National Under-16 tournament at the Kuala Lumpur HA Stadium yesterday.
Sabah took a 2-0 lead but a strong second half handed Kuala Lumpur girls their first ever Under-16 title since the inception of the tournament in 2008.
Kirandeep scored two goals in the 28th and 45th minutes, while the other goals were scored by Nur Syaza Afiqah (15th), Hasya Syahida Saifuddin (34th).
Sabah were unfortunate, as they took a 2-0 lead off Cyra Cynthia Anis (11th) and Inka Shafika Juani (14th) before they collapsed under pressure. The other goal was scored by Cyra Cynthia Anis in the 33rd minute.
"When we were two goals down, there was tremendous pressure on us to make a comeback, but I kept pushing from midfield and team-work won us the title," said Kirandeep.
KL coach A. Kannagi, a former international, attributed the win to strong minds.
"My girls never gave up, and fought till the final whistle and that was what separated us from Sabah who had shown a real solid form in this tournament," said Kannagi.
RESULTS: Boys' Final -- Perak 1 Terengganu 0; Third-Fourth: Pahang 2 Sabah 1; Fifth-Sixth: Malacca 2 Negri Sembilan 0.
Girls' Final: Sabah 3 Kuala Lumpur 4; Third-Fourth: Selangor 3 Johor 1; Fifth-Sixth: Penang 5 Negri Sembilan 0.
